miRNAs are important regulators of plant gene expression. To better characterize their functions, we applied high-throughput sequencing and degradome analyses to investigate three blueberry (Vaccinium ashei) tissues. A total of 127 known and 101 novel miRNAs were identified. Moreover, 141 targets for 42 known and 19 novel miRNAs were experimentally validated by degradome sequencing. A functiona...

Modern agriculture relies on domesticated pollinators such as the honey bee (Apis mellifera L.), and to a lesser extent on native pollinators, for the production of animal-pollinated crops. There is growing concern that pollinator availability may not keep pace with increasing agricultural production. However, whether crop production is in fact pollen-limited at the field scale has rarely been ...

Objective This study aimed to explore the immunoregulatory effect of flavonoids of blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) leaves (FBL). Methods The flavonoids of blueberry leaves were prepared with 70% ethanol and were identified by ultraperformance liquid chromatography/quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC/Q-Tof-MS). The immunoregulatory effect and possible regulatory mechanisms of...

Five soluble polysaccharide fractions were sequentially extracted with water, EDTA, Na2CO3, 4% KOH, and 14% KOH solutions at room temperature for 4 h from cell wall material of rabbiteye blueberry (Vaccinium ashei) fruits, and their physicochemical properties were examined. The sequential treatments yielded a total 36.02% soluble polysaccharides of the dry cell wall material. HPAEC and spectros...

Plants are proven sources of useful anti-tumor and chemopreventative compounds. Hence, identification of phytochemicals useful in dietary prevention and intervention of cancer is of paramount importance. The initial step in the formation of cancer is damage to the genome of a somatic cell producing a mutation in an oncogene or a tumor-suppressor gene. Fresh juices and organic solvent extracts f...

The antioxidant activity and phenolic composition of six in vitro cultured blueberry seedlings were determined. Extracts were prepared in 85% ethanol from 30 days old in vitro cultured plants and used to evaluate the antioxidant capacities that included Ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazin (DPPH•) scavenging ability, total polyphenols (TP) and the partial p...

Highbush blueberry yields are dependent on pollination by bees, and introduction of managed honey bees is the primary strategy used for pollination of this crop. Complementary pollination services are also provided by wild bees, yet highbush blueberry is increasingly grown in regions outside its native range where wild bee communities may be less adapted to the crop and growers may still be tes...

Breeding for a subjective goal such as flavor is challenging, as many blueberry cultivars are grown worldwide, and identifying breeding targets relating to blueberry flavor biochemistry that have a high degree of genetic control and low environmental variability are priorities. A variety of biochemical compounds and physical characters induce the sensory responses of taste, olfaction, and somat...

OBJECTIVE It has been forecasted that the rabbiteye blueberry could inhibit osteoporosis. However, the inhibition and prevention of osteoporosis via rabbiteye blueberry are still elusive. This study was aim to evaluate the anti-osteoporosis effects of rabbiteye blueberry in ovariectomized rats. METHODS Thirty rats were randomly divided into three groups of ten rats each as follows: sham-opera...

Blueberry juice processing by-products are a rich source of procyanidins, which comprise a group of compounds shown to possess numerous health benefits, including protection against coronary heart disease, type II diabetes, and obesity. Most of the procyanidins present in blueberry pomace, however, are large molecular weight compounds that are poorly absorbed and show weak bioactivity compared ...